Honor
by UnbelieverDrizzt
Summary: formerly darkness and shadowsCOMPLETE! Batman answers an old challenge... to finish a duel he started as Bruce Wayne.. R&R pls..
1. Mysteries

Disclaimers: I don't own batman or any characters, yeshua's mine, though anybody interested in buying him?

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Darkness and Shadows

Chapter 1- Mysteries

Gotham city: city of darkness, crime, downfall and redemption; the city where the only difference between night and day can be seen on electronic clocks. On this particular night, a man runs, pursued by an unseen force.

"O, I have him in my sights. Contact GCPD with the following coordinates…"

"Already done, boy wonder… good hunting. And oh B wants to talk to you and N at the cave."

This bonus information clearly did not surprise the red-clad, masked figure. He had been expecting a reprimand from Bruce ever since he helped Dick out on a case without informing Oracle of his whereabouts.

While freefalling to his prey, he decided to play around for a while and take out his frustrations on the criminal. After all, he could reason out to the Bat later that the man chose to fight him instead of running.

Landing on front of his visibly shaken target, he smirked when he saw relief flood the features of the criminal. This reaction was commonly what he encountered. Criminals, who thought they were being chased by the urban legend known as the Batman, were often relieved when they saw that what confronted them was a teenager wearing a red and black costume.

Whipping out a gun, the criminal (who by know has regained some of his confidence) spoke harshly in a tone meant to scare of little old ladies and teenagers wearing pajamas "get lost, kid."

The confidence was gone when a split second after he spoke, a sharp pain in his hand caused him to drop the gun.

Smirking after the 'rang hit the target's hand, robin waited for the criminal's next move.

Seemingly getting more and more desperate, the man chose to attack the teenager… bad move. His punches seemed to meet thin air as he tried to focus on the red blur that had a bad habit of staying just out of his field of vision.

Tim felt that he had let the game go far enough and moved fluidly to the side of the man and quickly dealt him a punch that knocked the man unconscious.

Moving quickly, he took out a pair of plastic cuffs and knelt beside the unconscious body.

"I must be getting stronger" Tim Drake (or Robin as he was attired at the moment) thought to himself, "I didn't even feel that last punch"

It was too late when he realized what the implications of that last thought were. The criminal exploded beside him and dealt him a series of blows that, to the untrained eye, only seemed to be light touches.

Tim felt the first touch to his arm and felt the numbness that the touch left in its wake. Each touch to his body caused more and more of his nerves to shut down and more and more of his muscles to be paralyzed.

The criminal stood over the paralyzed and red-costumed Tim Drake. He knew that the pressure points he targeted would only cause paralysis and thus, Robin was still able to hear and understand him.

He said two words to the still form as he walked away: "Tell Bruce, I'm looking for him."


	2. Memories

Disclaimers: So far, I still do not have enough money to buy any of the characters from DC, so I don't really own Batman.. i'm working on it, though...lol

**zcole**, thanks for the comment, it made me decide that somebody is actually reading my work and it wouldn't be waste of time to continue writing... lol...

anyways, here's the next chapter.. will be updating again (I hope) tomorrow...

Chapter two: Memories

Darkness: as impenetrable as the night of the city, comparable to the heart of every criminal running the underground of Gotham city. Gotham was constantly dark, from the botoom of the sewers to the very top of every gargoyle. Darkness was Gotham's mark.

There was something peculiar about the darkness that surrounded one of the gargoyles, though. Somehow, one got the feeling that all the shadows that filled the city of Gotham gathered around this particular spot, from where every street in the city can be seen.

People looking to discern something from the darkness would have been shocked if they heard that voices were coming from the gloomy shadow.

"Yes, what is it, O?"

"B, you have to hurry, something's wrong with R, I'm tracking his position and he hasn't moved in about 5 seconds."

"I'm there"

Gradually, the darkness shifted and one could see the faint outline of the urban legend known to Gothamites as the Batman.

Freezing cold seemed to ensue from the form of the Dark Knight as he shot a D-cell line towards the nearest building. Memories of Jason Todd hurried his movements.

He knew that he trained his partner well enough to handle every situation he can possibly encounter. However, he also knew the sophistication of the Oracle's monitoring system and if she observed no movement, it could only mean that Tim may be down.

Landing on the alley corner where Oracle reported Tim's coordinates, he looked around an immediately spotted the still form of Robin lying on the ground.

Fearing the worst, a dozen thoughts rushed through his brain, from: "Someone will pay for this" to "I failed again". The Dark Knight slowly approached the crumpled form of Robin.

Checking for vital signs, he was surprised to feel a strong, steady pulse from the neck of his partner. Removing his partners mask, he could see that Tim's eyes did not hold the blank, vacant look of death that he encountered so many times.

Realizing what was up he quickly touched one pressure point to test his theory. A groan escaped from Tim's lips as his facial muscles were released from paralysis.

Quickly, Batman started gently striking different pressure pints and nerve clusters all over the boy's body. Locating each proper pressure point was easy for the Bat despite the fact that the body had a pressure point in every three inches and that touching the wrong pressure point could worsen Robin's condition.

Feeling the effects of the paralysis wear off, Robin looked toward hi mentor and noticed the expression of deep thought in the face of the Bat.

"The person who did this was certainly no amateur in terms of pressure-point fighting." The Bat was thinking, "Only a few people know about the nerves he immobilized, much less, the proper execution of immobilization."

When the Dark Knight ran this fact through his mind, he reduced the number of possible culprits to one of 5 people.

Activating his com-link, the Bat told Oracle to run a current status check on 5 names despite the fact that if the Bat's hunch was right, these people would be isolated from civilization, much less the information superhighway.

"Batman..."

The Dark Knight's train of thought was halted when he realized that his partner was trying to get his attention.

"The guy who did this had a message for you."

This statement reduced the number of suspects to three men.

"He said 'tell Bruce I'm looking for him' "

This provided the answer for Batman and one name escaped his lips: "Yeshua"

_**15 years ago, the wu-dan mountains**_

_It was an eventful day in one of the temples located in the WuDan mountains. In the courtyard, an array of young martial artists prepared to give their master a demonstration of the skills they have accumulated through their stay in the temple. By the end of the day, some students would be sent home, others would stay to futher improve their skills, a select few would be invited to join a group that would tour and show the rest ofthe worldthe wonders of kung-fu._

_Within the temple, however, a ceremony far from the festive mood outside is taking place._

_Three people are present and kneeling down. In the center is a man who, by the black color of his hair, would seem to be younger than the age his wise eyes convey. Aiming for the perfection of kung-fu has led him to the quest for immortality, for each time he practices his techniques, the number of the black hairs on his head seem to be increasing._

_On his right knelt a young man of asian descent. He had dark hair and eyes which conveyed the intensity of his focus. The object of his focus was the person across him. This young man exuded an aura of control. Although you could also sense the focus within him, you could sense that he focused not on a particular person, but on his whole environment. _

_"Bruce and Yeshua" The old man spoke without shattering the harmonious stillness of the temple, "you two have accomplished something that even I have never thought possible."_

_The two students spoke no words and let the master finish._

_"You have both reached the highest level attainable in this path, and have learned all I can teach you." The master paused and allowed them to absorb the enormity of the honor that statement conveyed._

_"Not only that, you have competed for the scroll and have proven yourselves equals for the honor of the prize."_

_Four eyes suddenly shifted to regard the old man._

_"I have therefore decided to separate the scroll into two, waiting until for the time when one of you would be willing to battle once more and unite it."_

_The old man then gave each of his students a rectangular box, bowed and left the temple._

_The one named Yeshua moved first, knowing the personality of his fellow student. Picking his box up, he bowed to his fellow master. A challenge had been given._

_With a bow equal to what Yeshua gave, Bruce confirmed his answer. A challenge had been accepted._

_They both stood up, turned their backs, and walked away._


	3. Musings and Meetings

Chapter 3: Musings and meetings

Wayne manor: The big mansion looms over Gotham as if, by some mistake of fate, it was given the undesirable duty of watching over the city. Most gothamites would laugh at this, knowing that the current occupant of the house could hardly take care of himself, much less the city.

Among the citizens of Gotham city, the reputation of billionaire-playboy Bruce Wayne seems to have only one positive: his money.

Not one of those people knows the secret life of Bruce Wayne. Nobody knows of what lies underneath the stately mansion. Nobody knows just how seriously Wayne truly took his life.

The secret world of the martial arts elite, though, is a bit different from Gotham city. For one thing, to be trained by a true martial arts master, honesty is required. Every master knows his pupil's name and even if that name is changed, masters do not forget the fighting styles of people they encounter.

Underneath the mansion, in the cave, Batman pondered upon this fact and realized that his studies of the martial arts have finally come full circle. Walking amongst his mementos, he realized that in every martial art he studied, there was only one where he did not reach the top.

Reaching into a glass case, he took a rectangular box and opened it up. "There it is" he muttered, looking at the rolled up parchment inside.

He often wondered to himself about when the scroll would be completed. By the actions shown by Yeshua when they parted, he knew that he only needed to wait for the challenge to come to him. Yeshua would seek him and he would answer.

Thinking of how Yeshua treated his son, he knew that Yeshua only wanted to let him know he was coming. Contrary to what people might think, non-lethal combat is much more difficult than killing. It takes precision and mastery to be able to bring down your opponent without killing him. You needed to have control, and if there was one thing the Bat had, it was control.

The Dark Knight roused himself from his musings and, taking the box, walked towards his dojo. Before stepping inside the room, he removed his cowl. The dojo was a place to be respected, here his mind lay open, and his face revealed.

Removing his armor, he went to a small chest on the side of the dojo door and there retrieved a gi. The gi was obviously old. Although it was still white (Alfred insisted it be kept so), It was torn in some places and patched up on some, a symbol of how much experience the wearer has had (at least, it was the reason Bruce gave to Alfred for not buying a new one).

Tying on the belt, Bruce bowed before stepping into the mat. Reaching the center, he faced the door and bowed again. "Welcome" he said in a voice devoid of emotion, but without the harsh, fear-inducing tone of the Bat.

In the shadow of the entrance, a figure suddenly appeared. Having prepared before coming to the cave, Yeshua entered the dojo with a bow, walked towards the center to face Bruce, and bowed towards him.


	4. Mastery

Here's the final chapter…. I actually finished it all in one day! Yaaaaay!

Oh yeah, and I only own Yeshua, not Bruce. Thanks to all those who reviewed and will review although, if I am any indication of the average reader, they will probably only start reading this when I write the word COMPLETE in the summary..

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Chapter 4: Mastery

Knowing no words were needed, Bruce returned the bow as an equal. They knew that before this night was over, one would bow lower than the other.

One would think that a fight between two great masters would take a long time. People would think that they would exchange and block strikes, attacking and defending until one is defeated. Sometimes, it happens this way. However, on this particular fight, Bruce and Yeshua knew that such fighting would be a waste of energy. Masters of their level can and will defeat the other within one second of the first movement.

Water dripped from the stalactites of the cave. Each drop's sound echoed in the cave and within the minds of the two masters.

Focusing all of his ki, Bruce calmed his mind and planned the move that will finish the duel. Looking into each other's eyes, the two contenders fought a battle within their brains and studied move after possible move.

Both then placed their thoughts into the void, forgetting their plans and allowing their bodies to react to their discipline. A drop of water clung to the tip of the stalactite.

Falling towards a pool of water in the ground, the drop gave up its fight against gravity and landed with a plop.

Exploding from their calmed states, Bruce and Yeshua moved towards each other, one hand leading them in a thrust that would finish the duel once and unite the two halves of the scroll.

Blam! The sound of a body hitting the tatami mats echoed around the dojo. Looking into the room, one could see a man kneeling over his fallen opponent and gently stricing a spot in the body. They both stand and bow to each other.

"Thank you for this honor" Yeshua said to Bruce, bowing.

"You are welcome" Bruce said.

He then returned the bow in the manner of a master to a student.


End file.
